Calling it "a bold step forward for the U.S. wheat industry's future," National Wheat Foundation (NWF) President Dusty Tallman alerted fellow wheat growers and staff this week that the NWF plans to fund studies that could lead to the creation of new revenue streams and potentially, some form of national wheat checkoff.

The NWF unanimously approved funding for two studies designed to look into what the return on investment could be to U.S. wheat growers "if all U.S. wheat states participated in investing consistent time, leadership, and resources into an increased national wheat effort," according to a letter obtained by Agri-Pulse. Currently, there are 44 wheat producing states, but only 23 associations have some form of checkoff program.